


right now, i love you

by wouldratherbe



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, First Meetings, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25432765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wouldratherbe/pseuds/wouldratherbe
Summary: “Haveyouever loved someone?”Her gaze flitted around, and found a pair of hazel eyes staring right back at her.or: rachel gets distracted
Relationships: Rachel Berry & Santana Lopez, Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray
Comments: 18
Kudos: 127





	right now, i love you

**Author's Note:**

> i would like to thank no one other than *****. thank you so much little dude.
> 
> title from the play "agnes of god"

“Love.”

“Why love?”

“I don’t know.”

Rachel stared into Santana’s eyes, watching as the perfectly manicured brow furrowed. Santana leaned forward in her seat, hands grazing past the books on the table, stopping just before Rachel’s, which were promptly pulled back into her lap.

“Have _you_ ever loved someone, Agnes?” Dark, concerned eyes peered into her own, and Rachel looked away, uncomfortable with the level of intensity between them.

Her gaze flitted around the cafe patio they were enclosed in, and found a pair of hazel eyes staring right back at her. They kept each other in their line of sight for a second, the longest second of Rachel’s life, and then the eyes fell to a sketchpad, mouth pursing as they drew something out.

“Rachel? Rach!”

“God!”

The line burst out of her as she turned back to the script, artist all but completely forgotten.

“Too late. What, did you forget? Because we have three days. _Three days_ to be off book, Gayberry. I don’t care if I keep you up all night, we need to get this down.”

Rachel ran a hand through her hair, nodding assuredly. “I know, Santana. From the top of scene four?”

“I guess,” the girl mumbled, flipping back to the previous page with a harsh glare at her roommate.

_Agnes of God_ was a simple, three-person play being put on by Professor Gerschwin, and Rachel had, of course, gotten the title character. It was her first venture into non-musical theatrical productions at Nyada, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to give it her all. But she had a job, and other schoolwork, and rehearsals, and productions, and the AoG cast and crew only met once a week, so it tended to fall quite low on her list of priorities. There wasn’t much to give, in the end.

But she told Santana they could get coffee and memorize together, so here they were, Agnes and her doctor, running lines from a very depressing show in the middle of a cafe.

Rachel took a sip, cleared her throat, and began. “Hello.”

They ran lines quietly, Santana pretty-much already off book, and Rachel proving herself to be right behind her. Rachel’s mostly quick, innocent, two-word answers flowed off her tongue easily, and she glanced around the cafe for a moment.

Hazel eyes were staring back at her.

Rachel tilted her head at the girl, no older than Rachel herself, and raised an eyebrow as if to question her, but the girl merely mirrored her, before she smirked right back, looking down at her drawing again. A purple pencil skated across the surface, before it flipped and something was erased, only to draw a more deliberate line in what Rachel could only assume was the same area.

“I mean, have you ever loved another human?”

Rachel didn’t even bother looking at Santana, eyes trained on the blonde girl a few tables down, with a lone pink streak in her hair. She glanced back up, as if she could feel Rachel staring, and smiled again, erasing once more. “Oh, yes.”

She heard a long, anguished sigh, and faced her friend once more, fixing Santana with a patented Rachel Berry look. “What?”

“You’re not focused, Rachel. But, you know what, that’s fine. I have to go to class. You enjoy sitting here and running lines by yourself.” Santana stood, shoving her script into her backpack before downing the rest of her coffee.

Rachel glanced at her lockscreen, grimacing when she saw the time. “Sorry. We’ll work on it tonight, okay? Promise.”

“Sure. Whatever. I’m going to class now.” She moved around the table, clapping Rachel on the shoulder and leaning down so her mouth was right next to her ear. Rachel shivered involuntarily, and rolled her eyes. “Make sure you get her number.”

Rachel startled, eyes growing wide as a blush settled upon her cheeks. She whipped her head around to question her friend, but Santana was already out the gate, waving her fingertips at Rachel, before pointing to the girl.

It took all of her willpower to turn and look at the girl again, only to be met with a grinning face yet again. God, she was _stupid_ cute. She was tapping her pencil against her propped up knee, and Rachel took a moment to observe her - the perfect hair, the denim jacket, the backpack with the lesbian flag pin.

_Score, score, score, score, score._

Rachel looked back up to her eyes, her big, deep, hazel eyes, and found herself smiling back. She was sure her blush matched the other girl’s.

She let her gaze fall to the table, hands wringing in a weak attempt to gain control of herself, and busied about cleaning it off. She had class soon, too, and she still had to go home and change. Might as well get a head start.

_Make sure you get her number. Don’t be a pussy._ She could practically hear Santana now.

Rachel stood up, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder, and approached the blonde’s table, leaning against a chair as she waited for the girl to notice her. It didn’t take long.

She didn’t say anything, just raised a perfect eyebrow at Rachel, and the brunette gulped.

“Can I see?”

The girl huffed a laugh. “See what?”

“The drawing. I mean, if you’re going to spend an inordinate amount of time drawing me, I think I should be able to see it.”

The eyebrow arched higher, if possible, and the girl turned the sketchpad around. Rachel’s smile grew wider, before falling completely. This was some sort of joke.

“Well, try to contain your excitement.”

“That - that’s… What even _is_ that?”

The girl frowned, scowling at Rachel. “It’s a _dinosaur,_ thank you very much.”

Rachel fidgeted, before dropping into the seat. A _dinosaur?_ It looked like… well, like a… _maybe_ a dinosaur. If a five-year-old drew it. Was this a comment on Rachel’s appearance? Did she look… dinosaur-ish? What the hell was this?

“If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”

“No, no! It’s a… fine drawing, I just.” Rachel had the courtesy to look sheepish, touching the corner of the paper lightly. “I thought you were drawing me.”

The girl’s look turned quizzical, and she tilted her head. “And why would I draw you?”

“I don’t know! You have the sketchpad, and the pins, and… you look artsy, I guess. And you kept looking at me, and…”

Hazel eyes turned soft again, and a grin settled on the girl’s face once more. “Well, I can explain that. I’m a theatre major. I go to Tisch. Hence the… artsy look, I guess. I was _drawing_ because I was _bored,_ and I didn’t feel like studying anymore. But no, I wasn’t drawing you. I’m afraid I don’t have the capacities for that.”

Rachel blushed at the goofy smile, and rested her arms on the table to examine the “drawing” closer. God, it was bad. Maybe it was for the better that she wasn’t drawing her. Rachel would’ve never recovered from that blow to her self esteem. “Why were you staring at me, then?”

“Oh, because you’re pretty. Was that not obvious?”

Rachel could feel her face growing darker, and looked down, her mouth opening and closing like a damn fish. “Thank. Um, thank you… Sorry, what’s your name?”

“Quinn. Call me Quinn. And you?”

Rachel squeaked out a laugh, breathless at the sight of Quinn leaning forward, staring into Rachel’s very soul.

“Rach. Rachel. Rachel Berry.”

“Rachel Berry. Nice to meet you, Rachel Berry.”

At least Quinn had the decency to look a little flushed, as well.

Rachel cleared her throat, and stared at the dinosaur. It had a tiny smile, and Rachel smiled back, before reaching across Quinn and grabbing her purple pencil. “If I ask, will you give me your number?”

“If I give you my number, will you call?”

“When I call, will you answer?”

Quinn smiled once more, looking away this time, as if she couldn’t help it, and Rachel thought it might’ve been the cutest thing in the world. “Yes, Rachel Berry. But you haven’t asked me yet, have you?”

Rachel rolled her eyes good naturedly, and Quinn giggled (correction: _that_ was the cutest thing in the world), before stealing the paper and pencil and writing her name and number next to the dinosaur. She scribbled her signature in the corner, and Rachel grinned. A Quinn original.

“I’ll see you around, Rachel Berry?” Quinn murmured when Rachel stood, holding the paper gently in her hands.

“I’ll see you _soon_.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed this little diddy. i kind of love this universe.
> 
> please like and comment if you feel moved to. thanks for reading!! xx


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